Monday, June 20, 2011

excitement, obedience and saved by the bell (whaaa?)

You know that saved by the bell episode where Jessi is all into those energy pills and singing/dancing. then she starts getting a little crazy and Zack gets concerned and he's like Jessi, im worried about you and then he hugs her and she's like "im so excited! im so excited! im....so....scared!"

no? just my sisters?

point is, im so excited. but i'm not scared and energy pills or dancing don't have anything to do with it. so maybe this wasn't a good example. Although there may be some dancing involved but that's only for the eyes of my children. they think mama can dance and I ain't tellin them different.

untill they see someone who can really dance and then there little mama bubble will burst.

but i'm completely off the wagon of my original intention for this post.

anticipation. obedience. EXCITMENT.

now, ya'll know ive been walking through some change...decluttering and simplifying and just being quiet.

3 things i had to fight to bring into my life, but, having done so, has completely changed everything.

looking back to the beginning of the year i can see where God started in on me. in January, i went through a major need to get rid of things we didn't need around the house or use. i gave away as many clothes, toys, house decor, odds and ends...heck even food- to as many people as i could.

i don't say that for a pat on the back, but just to walk you through where this all started and how i ended up doing something i never thought we would

.....wait for it....

we canceled our cable.

what's that? no biggie to you? well pin a rose on your nose, cause it kind of was to us. not because we watched an over abundance of tv...in fact i intentionally started to limit the amount of time the tv was on over the last few months. but it was just one of the "luxuries" that i wasn't willing to give up. i'd hear whispers of it, "get rid of the cable" but id push it to the back of my mind over and over again.

how can we not have cable?

who doesn't have cable?

what about the bachelorette? how will i know if she ever finds love??

who will babysit the kids for 30 minutes so i can have a small fragment of time where im not being asked for more juice?

then in prayer one day, i started talking to God about some financial goals we have and He very specifically said to me "do what you can do, and I will do what you can't do"....

i am Lord!

...aren't I?

...no?....

"cable".

Oh. right.

See, it's an expense that is really very unnecessary, it's simple really and not even a big deal to not have, BUT it was another area of obedience God was speaking to me about.

So i hesitantly brought it up to Brandon, thinking he was going to protest for the sake of his golf and the texas rangers, and every other sporting program known to man.

but he didn't. not one bit. he was in complete agreement and called right away to cancel it.

i kinda thought, he'd be my out and i could blame it on Him. Be like "hey God, brandon is the head of this house and he ain't buyin the no cable, is there something else we can negotiate?"

i'm kidding. sort of.

i battled with whether i should talk about this on my blog, but as i have said time and time again here...my goal and my heart is to inspire. in every way. to encourage you to look for God in the every day moments..to listen, to obey, and to then inspire others! that's what this is all about. when you get rid of the "excess", the things you know are not bearing any fruit {whatever they may be FOR YOU} then you make room for better things. God things...and his things are always better than our things. much better. by like a million trillion.

im not saying go out and cancel all of your cable, shut down your facebook, and give away all of your stuff. not at all. what i am saying, is to stop and listen to what God may be speaking to you about. whatever it is. and then be obedient.

the very second i stepped out in obedience, i stepped into a greater covering of joy, blessing, and just plain EXCITEMENT for what God is doing in my life and the life of my family.

What about you? is there something God has spoken to you about doing? have you done it? tell us about it!

I want this blog to be a place of inspiration and encouragement...not just through me, but through all of you too! I know you have stories, and comments, and things God is doing in your life as well...tell us about them!! I want to hear them and they just may speak to someone else to step out and do whatever it is God is telling them to do also!!

because i got to hear from all of YOU. I read stories of inspiration, and hearts of motivation. i loved it. and i know others reading were encouraged also.

so let's keep it up. lets push each other to pursue joy--whether it be by stepping out in obedience, achieving goals, making our home a place to "dwell" {abide, remain, be stable}, life lessons of a mom, inspirations through His word....whatever it is. Let's pursue the SPLENDOR of every day and every moment, TOGETHER!{p.s that may or may not have been a hint about something to come ;)}

I want to hear from you! Yes YOU, all of you lurkers, come out, come out! Your words could be used to bless and inspire someone. don't miss that chance! :)

Answer this question for me....is there an area of obedience that God has been speaking to you about? if so, have you done it? what has that meant for you? if not, what's keeping you from it?

and now i must go because in the time it took for me to post this (and what would normally have been a 30 minute show) they've drawn me about 58 pictures that im supposed to go hang now. lawd have mercy.

8 comments:

Laura, I promise, you won't miss it once you get past the withdrawals. ; ). In the 4 years Bronson and I have been married we only had cable for 3 moths and that was mostly because Bronson wanted to watch sports. I could give a rip about tv. Anyways, Bronson and I both are in a HUGE transition. We've taken a big leap of faith in complete obedience. We came from living an ordinary life, doing ordinary things and following the ordinary rolls. We know our family is called to ministry and have always asked ourselves why it wasn't happening? Why this...? and Why that...? It wash happening because I wasn't willing to step out of my comfort zone, I wasn't willing to give up certain things, I wasn't willing to sacrifice. I was afraid to taking a leap. Bronson's been pushing to leap for months now but I've been holding back. I've been afraid of loosing my home, doing things outside my confit zone, etc... After LOTS of prayer we've rented our house, joined apartment life and are currently in transision living with the friends. HUGE leap of faith!!! Apartment Life is going to open the door for Bronson and I to join and start ministry side by side together. We've both been involved in ministry but it's never been joined. Renting our house out has delivered us from financial bondage. We'll be able to pay off what little debt we have an start fresh and new. We don't know all that the Lord has in store. At this point it's not all clear but we do know He has a way better plan than we do! I'm not afraid, I'm not stressed... There no reason for me to fear or stress. I'm simply going to continue in this obedience and know that He has he whole world in His hands!

Oh Laura, there are so many things that I am hearing from the lord right now. But mostly, the call has been to trust him. I have been letting fear and the need for "control" dominate my decision making for so long but I am learning to surrender an trust god to take care of the things that I can't. I still have a long way to go, but these past few weeks I can already feel a lifting of the tremendous weight I had been feeling over certain decisions and situations as I have given them over to God and am trusting him with our lives.

God has us in a similar season of financial goals/testing. It can be so frustrating but i've seen the fruit of obedience. I've spent more quality time with my husband. We've sat and just watched our sweet baby coo, smile, cry, squirm. We've gotten to know all of our neighbors better. Spent way more time talking about the things of the Lord. Falling "truly madly, deeply" in love. (get it like the song.....)

All your blogs inspire me to remember what God has told me. I read this blog yesterday in the car while Ella was screaming and J and I were beginning to get frustrated and it reminded me of my blessings. It also reminded me of something that i'm very excited about but not quite ready to share (dum dum dum...;) not to be all secretive but just gave me an excitement in my stomach(aka my spirit, it dwells in my stomach...am I alone in that :) I'll be sharing it on my blog soon and very soon ;)

WOW! Awesome blog (not that I'm surprised!) We "gave it up" in December (not for the pat on the back!) We've only had it maybe one year in 12....I think November '09 to December '10....I realized we were spending HOURS in mindless watching each night and sometimes it was "together" so it was productive, right? WRONG! Oh and it was ME who was hesitant....for the "alone time" while the kids watched a bunch of toxic CRAP! Finally after about 4 times of bringing it up....I followed through...Neitsch was hesitant probably the first two...he's a history channel and documentary watcher (and golf!) It's now TBN again....and it makes SUCH a difference in the mood of the whole house to have it on....even if it's just in the background!Kristen, we too have been called to ministry (probably overseas, yuck-just because of the kids!) and asked the questions....not to the same extent but not being together in ministry these last 5 years finally took it's toll....and Neitsch finally conceded and gave up worship team....he still spends probably an hour a night on guitar and misses it but continues to be obedient...and I too loved saved by the bell!Isn't it AWESOME (ALL YOU LADIES who I am blessed to call FRIEND) how God is pushing us all and all at the same time....to TAKE the time for him...to seek him! He's SO AWESOME>>>>ok, maybe I can say it one more time? LOLMallory you are NOT alone in the gut stuff...love you gals!

area of obedience? my entire life. ha! i am working in this;) the main area being, cheerful submission to my husband.

and we haven't had cable for two years. we did just get netflix though! we have "netflix nights" so we don't get carried away;) we don't miss tv-too much. makes me happy/sad now when i catch a show somewhere, i realize how desensitized i had become. yikes.

Hi Laura! I'm typically a "lurker" and don't like to comment. But today I really want to!

I've had a typical busy mom day. Hailey has a fever with no apparent cause, I had to painstakingly leave her with daddy because I needed to be at work. I felt guilty all day because I felt like I chose work over my sick daughter (even though I know I didn't really). Work was pulling me in every direction. Only to end my day with my 2 adorable but VERY WHINY children who only want mommy when they are tired and not feeling well (which is good because daddy had to work tonight anyway). Anyway, I was exhausted and getting dinner ready when I decided to read your blog. And I was inspired. And after a day like today, that's hard to do! So tonight, instead of turning on the t.v. and letting us all zone out. I cuddled, listened, talked and we read stories. And it was much more relaxing and fulfilling than an hour of t.v. ever could have been! Now, I'm not shutting off my cable anytime soon... BUT I had a great evening with my kids thanks to you and your writing what I needed to hear at that moment. So Thank You!! You often inspire me (to decorate, take notice, dwell in the moment) but tonight you saved my sanity and gave us a great night. :)

And my obedience... God has been telling me for the last 6 months that my family needs to be at church EVERY week. So we go, and I find an excuse as to why we can't go the following week. Usually my EXCUSE is the kids' throw temper tantrums in Sunday school because they think it's another full day of daycare. That they don't understand it's a little over an hour and then mommy will be back. Or that my husband works 6 days a week and his only day off is Sunday, so I let him sleep in. But I know that God wants more for my family and so do I. So while I have yet to accomplish it... that's the obedience I'm working on. Miss you and thanks for your blog... I'm always lurking around for some inspiration!! Love, Crystal

Thank you girls!! Love to see what God is doing in each of your lives! and Love that you shared it! you never know who you are reaching!!

Crystal, you need to come out of "de-lurk" more often! I always love hearing/reading what you have to say. So glad you had such a good night, making the effort to enjoy the moment you are in, really does make ALL the difference!! love ya! :)